Skipton Building Society is updating its lending policy and will lend to people who wish to purchase flats that are in buildings above five storeys in height.

Under the previous lending criteria, only flats within buildings of five storeys or under were eligible.

The Society is no longer putting restrictions on the total number of units within a block of flats – previously a limit of 48 units applied restricting lending to smaller developments.

Kris Brewster, Skipton’s head of products, said: “In making these updates to our lending policy we at Skipton are continuing to play our part in supporting a buoyant property market. Across the country, and particularly in London and the south east, we know there are high percentages of properties that are above five storeys and contain more than 48 flats. In changing our lending policy we are now able to help many more people secure their dream home, no matter how high up it is.

“After reviewing our old policy we could see that it really didn’t make sense to restrict our lending on quality flat developments simply due to their height or size when we have independent valuations in place As the UK’s fourth largest building society, we’re committed to doing everything we can to stabilise and sustain the property market. It’s what we’ve been doing this for 160 years – and this new move will help enable more people to get the keys to their new homes.”

Skipton’s new lending policy comes into effect on 30 August. Provided that the flat has at no time been a local authority property then there will no longer be any restriction on the number of floors within the block of flats. Where the number of floors in a block exceeds five, then lift access is required.